LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada has shed its title as the national leader in unemployment.
Statistics released Friday by the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation show the jobless rate fell to 9.7 percent in January, the 18th straight month of decline.
And officials say the state's December unemployment rate of 9.8 percent put it below Rhode Island. That's a milestone for Nevada, which topped the jobless numbers since February 2010.
Nevada's economy added a seasonally adjusted 6,600 jobs in January, compared with a month earlier.
The unemployment figures are also improving in regional numbers that aren't seasonally adjusted. Las Vegas' rate of 10.2 percent is down 2.3 percentage points from a year ago.
The Reno-Sparks area's unemployment rate was 10.6 percent this January, and Carson City's rate was 11.2 percent.
